Deus Ex: Human Revolution Preview

Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution has once again been given the hands-on preview treatment, and this time it’s VideoGamer providing us with the details on the game’s introductory sequence.

Without going too heavily into the specifics, the most encouraging thing about this sequence is its understated confidence in dishing out exposition – both in terms of the characters, and the game world as a whole. You’re introduced to a number of hefty concepts – Sarif’s business, the details of something important the company is about to do, and the reaction of the (so-far unseen) outside world – but this information is doled out in a believable, organic way. Similarly, when we learn of Adam’s romantic involvement with a particular NPC, and the tension that exists between him and a co-worker, we are alerted to these things via subtle shifts in tone and body language. There’s plenty of intelligent, well-delivered dialogue, but it’s the things that are left unsaid that seem to tell us the most.

When the bullets finally do start flying, it’s gratifying to find a similar degree of subtlety in the game’s combat. Prior to the start of the play session I’m warned about the difficulties in adopting a gung-ho approach, and my initial few firefights end in unexpectedly violent failure. Even on the standard difficulty, a smattering of hits will snuff out Adam’s life, although thankfully this is also true for your foes. Even with the help of an assault rifle, it seems like suicide to take on two or more opponents at once. A far better approach is to creep around, picking people off with careful headshots. Initially the controls feel a bit slow, but you soon realise this is a deliberate design choice, encouraging precision and neatness over run-and-gun tactics. The hit animations look great, too: while headshots are clearly the order of the day, there’s something joyously evil about the way enemies react to being shot in the stomach – staggering back with a hand clutched to their belly in alarm.